BREAKING: Ford government extends school shutdowns in southern Ontario until Jan. 25

The Ontario government announced in a press release on Thursday, that they will be extending at-home learning in southern Ontario until Jan 25, as cases of coronavirus in the province continue to climb.

"As COVID-19 cases continue to rise at an alarming rate throughout the province, the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts, is extending certain measures to keep students, education staff, and residents of Northern Ontario safe," the press release states.

Northern Ontario schools will also remain shut down for another two weeks.

"These time-limited measures are being taken to help ensure that all Ontarians stay at home as much as possible to minimize transmission of the virus and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed," the statement continues.

The government noted that online learning is more difficult for people in northern Ontario where there is "limited access to reliable internet service."

"With the public health trends where they are across the province, our priority remains keeping students, teachers, school staff, and all Ontarians safe," Ontario Premier Doug Ford said. "That's why we're extending the remote learning period for students in Southern Ontario and the shutdown period for Northern Ontario."

The press released acknowledged that schools are "not a significant source of transmission," but noted that schools cannot reopen since the positivity rate among school-aged children has increased dramatically since schools have closed. It is unclear why returning to school would be a negative for children given positivity race has increased "from 5.44 percent in late November, early December, to nearly 20 percent in early January," while schools were largely locked down.

"The Ministry of Education will continue to act on the best advice of medical and health experts to ensure that students in Northern Ontario are able to return to school safely and, when safe to do so, students in Southern Ontario as well," the press release reads. They did not mention consulting educators or parents on the matter.

Data from the United States shows that online learning has been detrimental for students, dramatically increasing rates of failure in the classroom.